Brown launches data science initiative

The initiative will bolster research that integrates data in new scholarly contexts

A new data science initiative from Brown University will give students innovative educational opportunities around big data use.

The data science initiative also will catalyze new research programs to address some of the world’s most complex challenges.

The initiative builds on established strengths in mathematical and computational sciences and a long history of data-related research across its core academic departments.

“The Data Science Initiative will … unearth new methods for using big data to solve big problems,” said Brown President Christina Paxson.

Despite recent advances, growth in the volume and complexity of data continues to outpace the development of new techniques needed to translate these data into cutting edge research. At the same time, the application of big data to new questions and disciplines requires novel approaches.

In its initial stages, the data science initiative will include a new one-year master’s degree in data science, expanded undergraduate course offerings, and the addition of 10 new faculty members and researchers whose research and teaching will focus on fundamental methods of data science and their application to a variety of research questions.